Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2011 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

If you have a low AdWords quality score and don’t know how to fix it, you’ve come to the right place. These tips on how to improve your low quality score will keep your keyword results in higher positions and at lower costs.

In AdWords, your quality score is a formula that measures how relevant your keyword is to your ad text and to a user’s search query. Quality score effects your keywords position, minimum CPC and also if your ad will even be shown. That’s why having a low quality score can drastically hurt your chances of having a successful PPC campaign.

Here are 7 Tips to Fix Your Low AdWords Quality Score

1. Organize Your Account — It’s really important to keep a well-structured account. Not only does it make it easier to manage but it will allow you to target your audience better. You will want to split your keywords into more targeted ad groups. For example: green widgets, buy green widgets, what is a green widget, should be in a separate ad group from yellow widgets.

2. Targeted Ad Copy — For each new ad group you create you need to make sure the ad copy incorporates your main keyword phrase in the title and description. If your ad group is green widgets your ad should target “green widgets”. Many advertisers make the mistake of not following this simple technique, and it makes It is amazing how many advertisers don’t follow this simple technique.

3. Targeted Keywords — You might want to get the most possible clicks, but if those clicks don’t convert or they bring your quality score down then you are already fighting an uphill battle. Make sure your keywords are targeted and relate directly to the theme of your ad group and your landing page.

4. Test Ad Copy — You will want to test different ad copy for each of your ad groups. As a best practice, it’s recommended that you create a minimum of 4 ads per ad group to find which ones perform the best and offer you the best quality score.

5. Take Advantage of Keyword Matching Options — With some keywords, you’ll get more ad impressions; with others, you’ll get fewer impressions, but potentially more clicks. Testing these different options strategically will lead to better quality scores and lower costs.

6. Optimize Landing Page — Your landing page should be extremely related to the theme of each ad group and fully optimized. You can do this by creating a separate landing page for each ad group and incorporating the main keyword in the content of that page.

7. Utilize Your Descriptions — A big part of earning a high quality score is securing a high CTR, which means creating appeal and incentive that makes users want to click your link. Many PPC experts suggest creating that appeal through your descriptions by listing features and benefits, identifying your target audience specifically (e.g. “Perfect for small businesses”), adding a call to action, or promoting limited time offers.

Improving your low AdWords quality score is vital if you ever want to have a successful PPC campaign. While there are many factors that determine your quality score, if you following these best practices will put you well on your way to reducing costs and increasing clicks through a higher quality score. If you have any questions or need more help with fixing your low quality score check out our Pay per Click Management services. Good Luck!

HigherVisibility is part of the Small Business Trends Publisher Channel, offering a full range of professional interactive marketing services. The mission of HigherVisibility is to provide clients “Valuable Solutions with Visible Results.” HigherVisibility works with companies of all sizes, offering advice on topics ranging from keyword research to algorithm updates.

3 Reactions

Great advice, but really it all distills down to how well your ad copy & landing page deliver a solution to the needs/problem faced by someone searching a specific query. Follow these steps and you’ll accomplish that goal. That turns into customers and profit, which is way more important than QS.

It takes a lot of effort and time to create effective ads and landing pages. Keep your budget low while you are learning and once you have a good CTR you can increase your daily budget. It’s a complicated subject so find a few good books on the subject and read them, it’s well worth your time.

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